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3.51 AVERAGE
3.51 AVERAGE
halfway through the book and still not a single character to like, or even to care about. Life is too short
I really enjoyed this book. This was another one that was recommended to me through audible, and my past purchases. I have never really read anything about English society during this period, so it was very interesting to me. I was a little bit surprised with how it ended, but I thought it was a good ending anyway.
I could not be mad at this book. Was it contrived? Oh my, yes. More contrivances in the first fifty pages than you could imagine. Was it ridiculous? Oh HELL yes. Predictable? More or less. But there were surprisingly fun characters and it was engaging. I was rolling my eyes (mostly at Love Interest's lines - seriously? STOP BITCHING. Either help her or don't). I was also laughing at some of the clunkier lines and more obvious contrivances. If I had my own copy of the book, I would have been writing "OH NO SHE DIDN'T" in the margins on many pages. I realized when I finished that some of the characters we were supposed to hate were...not really all that bad There were also characters we were supposed to find sympathetic or at least sympathetic by the end who were really not great I'm sure the heroine and hero will live a long, happy life of total miscommunication because they are both. Such. Shit. At communicating. But I'm even laughing as I write that. Cannot be mad at this book. It was fun, distracting, and entertaining all the way through. Pleasantly surprised.
Spoiler
for example, John. I'm pretty sure we're supposed to hate him for not seeing World War II coming, which is an easy call to make NOW. Yeah, he's kind of pompous, but he's right about a few things (the best minds of the generation partying constantly because the first world war traumatized them, for example), and he hits on Rachel because they have a lot in common and agree on a lot of things. If she hadn't been all cut up thinking about her parents and the sordidness of it all, she might have gone for it, too. Also, it turns out he has a COMPLETELY legit reason to dislike Simon.Spoiler
like dear old Dad. See one of my live-tweet-esque status updates, I called early on that he was not going to be as awful as she thought. And that Mum FAKED THEIR DEATHS so he would go take care of the estate? Hard not to feel bad for the guy. But "I refused to love my children because I thought my first child died"? Asshole.
I don’t know how this book slipped under my radar until now but I really enjoyed it!
I won this book in a giveaway and I lucked out because I honestly have no idea why I haven’t read it before now.
Rachel grew up thinking her parents were the perfect couple. Her dad died when she was 4. She had a happy childhood, just her and her mom, but she always missed her dad.
Rachel has been working as governess. She gets a message that her mom is ill but it’s delayed. She gets home too late. Her mom has passed away.
Rachel finds a picture in her mom’s possessions, a very recent picture, and the man appears to be her father.
After talking to her cousin, she learns that her father is actually still alive. He is royalty. He is married. He has other children. 23 years have passed since Rachel last saw him.
The picture opens up a can of worms. It makes Rachel question everything. Is she illegitimate? Does her dad still think about her? Why did he leave?
She gets the offer, from her cousin’s friend, to do a bit of undercover work. Rachel gets a makeover and Simon introduces her to everyone as Vera. “Vera” is to endear herself to Cece who has an in with the royal family.
If you watch Downton Abbey, picture one of the downstairs characters finding out their family was actually upperclass. Suddenly the governess is among the high class society.
It starts off fun enough for Rachel. But her goal has always been to see her father again.
Really drew me in. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
I won this book in a giveaway and I lucked out because I honestly have no idea why I haven’t read it before now.
Rachel grew up thinking her parents were the perfect couple. Her dad died when she was 4. She had a happy childhood, just her and her mom, but she always missed her dad.
Rachel has been working as governess. She gets a message that her mom is ill but it’s delayed. She gets home too late. Her mom has passed away.
Rachel finds a picture in her mom’s possessions, a very recent picture, and the man appears to be her father.
After talking to her cousin, she learns that her father is actually still alive. He is royalty. He is married. He has other children. 23 years have passed since Rachel last saw him.
The picture opens up a can of worms. It makes Rachel question everything. Is she illegitimate? Does her dad still think about her? Why did he leave?
She gets the offer, from her cousin’s friend, to do a bit of undercover work. Rachel gets a makeover and Simon introduces her to everyone as Vera. “Vera” is to endear herself to Cece who has an in with the royal family.
If you watch Downton Abbey, picture one of the downstairs characters finding out their family was actually upperclass. Suddenly the governess is among the high class society.
It starts off fun enough for Rachel. But her goal has always been to see her father again.
Really drew me in. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
3.5 stars
This was pleasingly more complicated than I had initially expected it to be and had a wonderful sense of historical atmosphere and some very intriguing side characters but I thought that the romance didn't get quite enough page time (especially since the moments it did get were some of the highlights of the book) and the aforementioned intriguing side characters, namely Cece and Olivia, got shunted off screen without much resolution.
This was pleasingly more complicated than I had initially expected it to be and had a wonderful sense of historical atmosphere and some very intriguing side characters but I thought that the romance didn't get quite enough page time (especially since the moments it did get were some of the highlights of the book) and the aforementioned intriguing side characters, namely Cece and Olivia, got shunted off screen without much resolution.
It was cute and I liked it. It didn’t go quite in the direction that I thought which was refreshing. I didn’t realize until the excerpt at the end that this is the same author as The English Wife that I really enjoyed. The tone seemed completely different though.
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I LOVED this book. The characters are wonderful, relate-able people and even now, 6 months after finishing, I continue to think about it. I know that this is meant as a stand-alone, but I truly feel these are the best characters that Lauren has written since the Pink books began. I truly hope at some point I get an additional novella or something. Any fan of historical fiction or chick-lit needs to read this one.